


Bells in the Distance

by FairyQueen (etoilecourageuse)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Presents, Running Away, Secret Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-17 18:47:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5881600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etoilecourageuse/pseuds/FairyQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ted and Andromeda’s new life as husband and wife is full of struggles at first, but there is nothing they cannot overcome as long as they are together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bells in the Distance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bluemermaid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemermaid/gifts).



It had not been easy at first. They had imagined their life together to be perfect, had imagined to be so happy, so beyond happy as at last they were free, as at last nothing would be able to harm them… And of course they were, of course they were happy, and yet… Yet they had struggled. Yet it had not been easy, for neither of them.

Andromeda had not dared to admit to her husband that she missed her family, that she missed Cissy’s laugh, her mother’s gentle touch, that she missed listening to her play the piano, the way the music would fill the room… Andromeda had not dared to admit that she missed them, that she missed them so beyond words, had cried at first but always in silence, always at night when Ted had been so fast asleep beside her. She had not dared to admit that she missed them… 

But he knew. Of course he knew and yet could do nothing but offer her empty words of comfort as he had never been forced to leave his parents behind fully aware that he would never again see them, as he could not understand… His parents adored her, she knew, and she adored them, would never miss an opportunity for a visit… But they would never be capable of replacing the family she had so suddenly, so cruelly abandoned one night, without even bidding her farewell. How desperately he attempted to understand, Ted, sweet Ted… But he couldn’t. 

It had not been easy at first. It was not easy to be separated from her family, it was not easy to… How much they loved each other. How much they loved, how much they adored each other… Andromeda had never felt regret for her decision, would have done the same over and over again, would never have refused him despite the guilt, despite the despair… She had never felt regret for marrying Ted, for taking the step into a new life, a new beginning. 

It had not been easy at first. They had struggled in every way, scarcely capable of surviving… Andromeda had used nearly the entirety of her savings to afford the small house they were to make their home, while her husband… Ted… He had worked, had worked every day, every moment of his life until he had nearly broken down with exhaustion, all in the foolish belief that the wealth she left behind so easily had had a meaning to her. Money… Andromeda would nearly laugh at his assumption even now, could not have cared less about money as long as they only were together, as long as they had each other… She could not have cared less about money. 

But she, too, had soon found employment at the Ministry for Magic and proven talent in her department (a talent that had later given her the chance to rise to a leading position which she had only reluctantly taken) yet it had taken years, years full of toil and frustration, until they had gained financial independence from Ted’s family and cleared their debts despite her mother-in-law’s asseverations that it was not necessary. 

How they had struggled… 

And still they had known how to surprise one another, bringing gifts once in a while to make each other smile in the most beautiful, most touching way. They were small things that Andromeda knew would be derided by her family, things that she knew would mean nothing to her younger sister who was used to receiving large bouquets from Lucius Malfoy instead of single flowers, accustomed to pearls and diamonds instead of trinkets made from glass, cut so precisely with Ted’s magic that it seemed sheer impossible to distinguish it from true gemstones. But Andromeda could not care less about presents, could not care less about jewellery as other things mattered to her, mattered truly… Love, affection, trust… His love was the most beautiful present, the most valuable of her possessions. To wake up beside him day by day, to every night fall asleep within his arms… It was everything. So why… Why should she care about jewellery if everything she had ever desired, everything she had ever needed was already hers? 

Her mother would understand. Andromeda knew, knew that she would understand as _Maman_ (a name she had ceased to call her too soon) had never truly paid attention to her possessions, neither her robes nor her jewels, no matter how precious, no matter how expensive, unless they had been gifts from Father, gifts from her husband whom she adored so beyond belief… She remembered, remembered the tales connected to these presents, would tell them with such pride… Still she protested when he returned with a present, still she would shake her head with a sigh and yet… Yet her eyes… It was so beautiful to watch. Their love was so beautiful… 

Perhaps she would have let her go. Perhaps she would have recognised the look within her daughter’s eyes and let her go despite her disapproval, perhaps she would have… No. She wouldn’t. Of course she wouldn’t. To escape had been the only way.

It had not been easy at first. It had not been easy at first, not for Ted and not for Andromeda who was so desperate to forget… And she did. For a while, she did. Yet seasons began to change, days growing shorter and nights colder, causing snow to fall from the sky, slowly at first and always increasing intensity. Soon, nearly too soon, towns were illuminated by warm golden lights that all told of Christmas. 

Christmas… How she adored Christmas, and how excited she had been, how beyond excited Andromeda had been to celebrate with her husband for the very first time as she had so desired. But it also caused her to remember. Of course it caused her to remember as she had never spent Christmas without her parents, her sisters, of course it caused her pain at first to think of them, to think of her childhood home’s drawing room and the large Christmas tree that seemed to have become more and more beautiful with every year… Of course… 

But Andromeda would not allow her memories to spoil what she had so looked forward to, forced herself to swallow down her emotions and to smile at Ted who, too, seemed to hide something from her. He had become quiet, still laughed at times yet it would never truly reach his eyes, yet he seemed concerned, nearly anxious… Wasn’t he supposed to be happy? Weren’t they both supposed to be happy? 

“I want it to be perfect,” he whispered to her one night, collapsing wearily onto the couch yet at the same time bursting from the pressure he had put upon himself. “I just want it to be perfect, Dromeda…”

Andromeda understood immediately. She gave a quiet sigh at first but then began to laugh, laughed so full of relief that her concern for her husband had been in vein, that this was the only reason for… She laughed, would not respond but take his face into her hands and kiss him, kiss him so tenderly… It would be perfect. Their first Christmas together would be perfect, would be beyond perfect, no matter the size of their tree, no matter the lack of presents or the opulence of their dinner… Of course it would be perfect… 

They were alone for Christmas, as Ted’s parents had gifted themselves a journey to Venice and departed the weekend before with a kiss upon Andromeda’s cheek and the promise that they would soon write. 

They were alone for Christmas, had spent the day of Christmas Eve together in the kitchen, baking biscuits and cooking, laughing with joy as they found they had succeeded, before they would proceed to for the first time in Andromeda’s life decorate their small tree without magic. How different this had been to the Christmases she had known, and yet… Yet how beautiful. They would still sit beside each other in the drawing room long after they had opened their presents, Andromeda’s head resting upon Ted’s shoulder as they looked out of the window, watching the snowflakes twirl in the sky before they would gracefully fall to the ground, covering the surroundings in nothing but pure white. They were listening too, listening to the silence that in this night was so special, so magical and for a moment, no longer than a split second, she believed that she could hear bells ringing in the distance, quiet bells that would tell the true tale of Christmas. 

“It’s perfect, Ted,” she murmured, absently touched her chest and smiled as she felt the golden necklace there so close to her heart, gently stroking over the pendant, a star jewelled with tiny rubies… How long he must have saved to afford such a present, and it was everything, truly, everything… It had taken her breath away, for a moment even caused her to tremble. Never would she remove it, never again would she wear anything else… It was everything. 

Of course they had struggled. Of course it had not been easy, for neither of them, and yet… Yet in this moment, as they were there together, everything was forgotten, yet in this moment only they seemed to exist, only Ted and Andromeda, husband and wife, two souls that had become one; in this moment the entire world seemed to stand still. 

“It’s perfect,” Andromeda whispered once more, closing her eyes and nearly fading into sleep right there, her hand always so closely intertwined with his. Never would she let go… Yes. Yes, it was perfect, a perfect Christmas so simple and yet everything she had ever desired, so full love and affection, so full of newly found traditions, their own traditions for their own little family… It was truly perfect indeed.


End file.
